Technique for eliminating pilling in shirt collars

ABSTRACT

To eliminate a condition in fabric which contributes to pilling thereof, a method of treatment which includes subjecting the fabric, while it is not restrained against contracting, to an elevated temperature at which the fabric does, in fact, contract and, in so doing, assumes a related condition which minimizes pilling of the fibers or yarns of said fabric.

United States Patent 161 Weiss Aug, 27, 1974 [54] TECIQUE, FOR ELKMINATING PHLLING 1,734,896 11/1929 Cluett 2/143 UX 5 SHIRT C L 1,861,422 5/1932 Cluett 26/l8.6 1,975,205 10/1934 Frankfurther 2/143 Inventor: George WEISS, 520 gn d, 2,451,337 10/1948 Hayes 26/185 Long Beach, N.Y. 11561 3,044,143 7/1962 James 26/l8.6 [22] Filed: Feb. 24, 1972 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 211 Appl 229 114 1,268,093 5/1968 Germany 26/185 Primary Examiner-Robert R. Mackey [30] Forelgn Apphcauon Prmmy Data Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Bauer & Amer July 20, 1971 Great Britain 33873/71 52 us. :1. 2/143, 2/243 B, 26/185, [57] ABSTRACT 2 /77 To eliminate a condition in fabric which contributes to [51] 1111. C1 A41b 3/00 p g thereof, a method of eat ent hich includes 58 F1616 of Search 2/143, 129; 28/77; subjecting the fabric, while it is not restrained against 26/135, 1&6 contracting, to an elevated temperature at which the fabric does, in fact, contract'and, in so doing, assumes [5 R f n Cit d a related condition which minimizes pilling of the fi- UNlTED STATES P bBl'S 01' yams of said fabric.

1,666,291 4/1928 Kaplan 2/243 B 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures PAImn-jnwmmu TECHNIQUE FOR ELIMINATING PILLING IN SHIRT COLLARS The present invention relates to a technique for minimizing, and for all practical purposes, eliminating pilling of the cloth or fabric of mens shirt collars.

Pilling, for present purposes, will be understood to be a condition wherein fibrils or other portions of the fibers or yarn of woven fabric project out of the plane of the fabric and create an unsightly appearance. This pilling most often occurs in the front and prominent area of a collar, specifically at the fold line of the collar, this collar area being in contact with the wearers neck and beard area. The movement of the rough skin or heard area of the wearer along this area of the collar causes the aforementioned pilling.

Naturally, the various shirting fabrics in use today have varying susceptibility to pilling, some of these fabrics being highly resistent to this phenomenon and others showing pilling to such an extent that they have little or no utility as shirting fabric. One such yarn or fabric which is most susceptible to pilling is textured polyester, a synthetic plastic yarn which, during its manufacture, is provided with a textured shape consisting of undulations or the like which are effective in providing the yarn with a considerable amount of stretch. This stretch is attributable to the undulations of the yarn straightening out under force and then returning to its undulated or textured condition whenthe force is released. Because of the stretchability of this synthetic fabric and also because its polyester content provides it with highlydesirable wash and wear properties, it would be an ideal shirting fabric but for its extreme vulnerability to pilling;

An important aspect of the present invention is the discovery of that condition in fabric or cloth, heretofore unknown, which contributes most significantly to pilling. Said condition is tautness in the fibers or strands of the fabric or cloth which, in turn, intensifies the abrasiveness of the movement of the rough skin or beard area of the wearer relative to these taut, and thus immobile, fibers or strands. If, however, these taut fibers or strands are rendered or placed in a relaxed condition, thereby increasing their ability to move or yield to the aforementioned abrasive influence, these fibers or strands exhibit little or no pilling.

Further, the tautness referred to cannot readily be avoided during the creation of the fabric or cloth, but only afterwards. This is so because it is during the various high-speed finishing treatments given to the fabric after coming from the looms bleaching, dyeing, sizing, etc., as well as. weaving, that the fibers are stretched and thereby placed in a taut condition, the percentage of stretch or tautness differing with the fabric and being considerable in the case of I percent textured polyester yarn.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an effective technique for minimizing pilling in shirting fabrics, said technique being particularly effective for I00 percent textured polyester yarn, which heretofore, as already noted, was particularly vulnerable to pilling. Specifically, the technique for minimizing pilling, as will be subsequently described herein in detail, makes feasible the commercial use of 100 percent textured polyester yarn or fiber for shirt collar construction without any significant increase in the cost of manufacturing this yarn or of fabric made therefrom, or in utilizing the same for men s shirts.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a shirt collar illustrating the manner in which normal use thereof results in pilling of the fabric of the collar;

FIGS. 2a and 2b are plan views of a piece of fabric having the pattern of the collar plies laid out thereon, FIG. 2a being prior to treatment according to the present invention and FIG. 2b being the same piece after such treatment; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view, in section taken on lines 33 of FIG. 2b.

Reference is now made to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1 wherein there is shown a shirt collar, generally designated 10, which has been treated in accordance with the present invention and which, as a consequence of such treatment, is in a condition which minimizes pilling of the collar 10. Although not limited to use with percent textured polyester yarn, the collar 10 hereof may consist of fabric utilizing such yarn, even though prior to this invention such yarn was known to be extremely vulnerable to pilling, particularly in the prominent front collar areas along the fold line of the collar, herein designated 12. It is believed that these pilling areas 12, or collar areas vulnerable to pilling, are due to relative movement 14 between the collar 10 and the neck area of the user, which neck area is usually rough and has beard growth which contributes to the fabric pilling.

In addition to fabric treatment, soon to be described, which minimizes pilling, it has also been found that arranging the woven collar fabric with the fill yarns thereof, herein individually and collectively designated 16, oriented widthwise of collar 10, as illustrated in FIG. '1, also minimizes pilling. Stated another way, all things being equal, less pilling has been observed after normal wear in collar constructions in which the warp yarns, individually and collectively designated 18, are oriented lengthwise of the collar, rather thanwhen the fill yarns 16 are so oriented. Although it is frankly acknowledged that the precise reason for this is not known, it is believed that this difference in vulnerability to pilling in the fill and warp yarns 16, 18, as just noted, is attributable to the differences in the conditions of tautness or tension which is characteristic of these yarns in a typical piece of fabric which has nbt been treated in accordance with the present invention. Specifically, and as perhaps may be best understood from a consideration of FIG. 3, to which figure reference should now be made, the warp yarns 18 are usually in a taut or condition of tension in their orientation in the woven pattern of the fabric, whereas the fill yarns 16 are ordinarily in a relaxed, undulating condition threaded between the warp yarns 18, all as is clearly illustrated in FIG. 3. Thus, during the course of relative movement 14, the beard or skin roughness of the wearer of the garment has an abrasive effect on both the fill and warp yarns l6 and 18. The relaxed fill yarns 16, however, are more yielding to this abrasive action, and there is therefore less of a tendency of the beard or skin roughness to:rupture the fibrils of the fill yarn and, following such rupture, to pick these fibrils and cause them to project out of the plane of the fabric. On the other hand, the taut or tensioned warp yarns l8 bear the full brunt of the abrasive action, which is an unavoidable consequence of relative movement 14, with the result that ruptured fibrils and similar outer portions of the warp yarns 18 are lifted out of the plane of the fabric and manifest themselves as unsightly pilling of the fabric.

Orienting the fill yarns 16 across the collar 10, however, does not totally eliminate pilling, but merely minimizes its occurance. This is because both the fill and warp yarns l6, 18 are in varying degrees of tension and relaxation, although the fill yarns 16 are normally in a more relaxed state than the warp yarns l8 and to totally eliminate pilling all yarns should be in a relaxed state. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to remove whatever tension or tautness that has been embodied in the-yarns during the finishing as well as the weaving thereof into cloth and, in this way, to produce cloth which is significantly less vulnerable to pilling. As previously noted, abrasive movement against taut yarns, i.e., yarns in a state of tension, produces and/or significantly contributes to pilling, whereas this movement against relaxed yarns does not have this undesirable effect.

FIGS. 20 and 2!) illustrate the recommended treatment according to the present invention which minimizes fabric pilling. In accordance with conventional manufacture of shirts and similar garments, patterns of the various parts of the garment are laid out and marked on the fabric, designated 20 in FIGS. 2a, 2b, while the fabric is in the flat and is usually several layers high. In accordance with the present invention, the specific fabric piece 20, which includes the various collar plies 22, is actually separated from the rest of the fabric, which may have laid out and marked thereon the other garment parts, such as the front and rear panels, the sleeves, pockets, cuff plies, neck band plies, and whatever else is being included as part of the garment. The collar block 20 is removed to a heat station at which heat, which may be as much as 400 F., is applied directly to the block 20. This may be done with any suitable heat-transmitting surface, and may even be done by an iron moved manually and quickly over the surface of the collar block 20 so as to transmit the heat to the fabric but without scorching the same. Following this heat treatment, it has been observed that collar block 20 will typically undergo a reduction in size of a non-uniform extent. That is, there will be a withdrawing inwardly of the upper edge 24 and also perhaps only of a portion 26 of the lower edge. Similarly, the side edges 28 and 30 will exhibit a physical change, akin to shrinking, of different amounts, as illustrated. The phenomenon is not completely understood, but it is believed that, as a consequence of the application of heat of an extent which is above the flow temperature of the polyester of which the yarns l6, 18 are comprised, this has an effect, at least on the taut and tensioned warp yarns 18, of causing the lengthwise relaxing of these yarns. These yarns are therefore rendered less rigid within the woven construction of the fabric by the aforesaid heat treatment and thus exhibit a greater yielding to the abrasive action which results from movement 14 between the wearers neck and the collar fold line 12.

Following heat treatment of collar block 20, the plies 22 are removed from the treated block and sewn, in acconstruction 10 which is then attached to the body of the shirt. It has been observed that each collar construction It), as a result of the heat treatment of its cor responding collar block 20 in accordance with the pres ent invention, shows a marked improvement, as far as its ability to resist pilling during wear. In fact, such treated collar 10 shows no signs of pilling despite use over a period of time which has resulted in considerable pilling in the same fabric which has not been subjected to prior heat treatment of the collar block 20 in accordance with the present invention.

A further consequence of the heat treatment, as hereinbefore disclosed, is that the resulting fabric loses some of its stretch and also has a loss of some drapability and other desirable attributes. However, these losses have no significant commercial drawbacks or consequences, since they are restricted solely to the fabric from which the collar 10 is constructed. In any event, these losses or diminution of these attributes of the fabric are more than compensated for by the ability of the fabric, following the heat treatment according to the present invention, to effectively withstand pilling and the development therein, during use, of unsightly roughened areas or portions.

It should furthermore be mentioned that, as a result of the prior heat treatment of the collar block 20 and the change to a stabilized dimension caused by such heat treatment, the collar 10 made from the treated block 20 does not exhibit any cockling or buckling when it is subsequently pressed with a hot iron or the like. That is, the uneven relaxation caused in the cloth by the heat treatment, by being eliminated prior to manufacture of the collar 10, cannot possibly cause cockling or buckling which is often observed in untreated collar cloth, and which is believed to be attributable to said uneven shrinkage-type relaxing of the yarns when the collar is ironed as part of the laundering thereof.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein.

What is claimed is:

l. A method of conditioning woven fabric collar plies preparatory to their use in garment collar manufacture so as to minimize pilling of said collar consisting of the steps of selecting for said garment collar plies a fabric consisting of woven warp and fill yarns formed of hydrophobic textured polyester material, separating a block of said woven fabric destined for treatment from a supply of same by cutting said block from said supply so as to provide peripheral edges along said separated block of woven fabric which are free from any restraint maintaining as an imposed condition on said fabric the then existing conditions of stress of said warp and fill yarns thereof, while maintaining said block of woven fabric in a dry condition and while in said unrestrained condition, contacting said woven fabric block with a moving ironing surface at an elevated temperature of up to 400 F but below the scorch temperature thereof so as to cause relaxation in the yarns of said fabric as manifested by a contraction in the length of said warp and fill yarns of said fabric, laying out a pattern for fabric preparatory to their use as a part of a garment collar whereby said resulting garment collar made of said collar plies exhibits minimal pilling during use. 

1. A method of conditioning woven fabric collar plies preparatory to their use in garment collar manufacture so as to minimize pilling of said collar consisting of the steps of selecting for said garment collar plies a fabric consisting of woven warp and fill yarns formed of hydrophobic textured polyester material, separating a block of said woven fabric destined for treatment from a supply of same by cutting said block from said supply so as to provide peripheral edges along said separated block of woven fabric which are free from any restraint maintaining as an imposed condition on said fabric the then existing conditions of stress of said warp and fill yarns thereof, while maintaining said block of woven fabric in a dry condition and while in said unrestrained condition, contacting said woven fabric block with a moving ironing surface at an elevated temperature of up to 400* F but below the scorch temperature thereof so as to cause relaxation in the yarns of said fabric as manifested by a contraction in the length of said warp and fill yarns of said fabric, laying out a pattern for each collar ply on said contracted block of woven fabric such that the warp yarns are lengthwise and the fill yarns widthwise of each said collar ply pattern, and removing collar plies from said block of treated woven fabric preparatory to their use as a part of a garment collar whereby said resulting garment collar made of said collar plies exhibits minimal pilling during use. 